Shadow Fiend is a somewhat squishy carry, although he is capable of dealing massive damage in the mid game. He has one of the most powerful ultimates in the game, and can very easily snowball if he gets good farm in the early-to-mid game.
He requires some defensive items to make up for his lack of survivability, although he can potentially farm faster than almost every hero.
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[/column]Shadow Fiend Skill Build
- Necromastery
- Shadowraze
- Shadowraze
- Necromastery
- Shadowraze
- Necromastery
- Shadowraze
- Necromastery
- Requiem of Souls
- Talent
- Presence of the Dark Lord
- Requiem of Souls
- Presence of the Dark Lord
- Presence of the Dark Lord
- Talent
- Presence of the Dark Lord
- –
- Requiem of Souls
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Shadowraze causes an explosion on the ground in front of him which deals damage in an area. When an enemy takes damage from Shadowraze, then they will receive a stacking debuff for 8 seconds which makes them take more damage from the next Shadowraze. It can be cast at 3 different ranges, which have independent cooldowns although they all do the same amount of damage and cost the same amount of mana. Shadowraze should be maxed first as it can be used to clear creep waves in two casts when maxed and allows you to farm the jungle very quickly in the meantime.
In the laning phase it can be used to guarantee a last-hit on the ranged creep, as Shadow Fiend has very low base damage and may not have many stacks of Necromastery built up yet. Shadowraze should be used to push the lane before the runes spawn and can be used to easily kill the opponent mid laner if they overextend. Practice with Shadow Fiend will help to perfect your ability to land these reliably.
Necromastery increases your damage for every unit you kill. This allows Shadow Fiend to built up a significant amount of damage in the early to mid game and is what balances out his low attack damage in the early levels. This should be maxed after Shadowraze, as it increases your damage significantly and is required for his ultimate ability.
You should try to get as many denies as possible if you don’t have max souls and it should get much easier to out-last-hit the opponent mid hero. You should ask your supports to stack camps in the jungle for you so that if you die in the early-to-mid game you can recover your souls faster, especially from the small camp where there tends to be many easily killed neutrals.
Presence of the Dark Lord reduces nearby enemies’ armor. This should be maxed last as it has a much smaller impact compared to his other abilities. This passive allows Shadow Fiend and his allies to hit all enemies a bit harder.
After a short delay, Requiem of Souls causes damage in all direction of Shadow Fiend based on how many souls he has gathered. Enemies affected by the damage have their movement speed reduced by 25% and their attack damage reduced by 50% for 5 seconds. Units take more damage the closer they are to Shadow Fiend. Requiem of Souls should be used in the heat of every team-fight. Upgradable through Aghanim’s Scepter, which increases the max number of souls you can store through necromastery and causes the damaging lines to return to and heal you for 40% of the damage. Requiem is only taken after you have maxed Necromastery, as it won’t deal as much damage before then.
If you manage to stand on top of enemy heroes and cast Requiem it will deal roughly 2500 magic damage before reductions. If you have a teammate with a strong AoE disable such as Black Hole or Reverse Polarity, you can wait until that spell is cast before getting a very powerful Requiem off on several enemies. Otherwise, it can be hard to get very close to enemies, so using it from afar is also effective, provided it still affects enemies. If you’re being chased by the enemy, you can move to high ground and, provided they don’t have vision, begin casting Requiem only for them to walk right into you and take massive damage.
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The Additional attack speed is usually more suitable if you intend to go for a heavy right-click build in Dota 2 esports. If you are going for a more magical damage build, if you’re against squishy heroes, or heroes who are vulnerable to magical damage, then the spell amplification can be very good. Having a Blink Dagger will also help you to land your Shadowrazes and deal more damage as well.
The extra movement speed is usually a better option as it will help you to position your Shadowrazes and chase down enemies with your long attack range. Presence Aura affecting buildings is a very niche talent. If you already have lots of mobility items and you need more tower push, then it might be good, but it’s generally not worth trading off the extra 40 movement speed for it.
If you’ve gone for a magical damage build, then the extra Shadowraze damage is usually very necessary, just because of how strong it makes your razes. If you’ve gone for a more physical damage based build, then the evasion will tank you up against right-clicks more. It’s usually overkill to get a Butterfly as well as the evasion talent however, and in these situations, the extra raze damage can be good even in a physical damage build.
Generally, if you went for the magical damage build, then the cooldown reduction will keep you casting your razes, your items and your ultimate much sooner. The extra damage can be good if you need more physical damage, but it’s usually more suited for a physical damage build with DPS items. There are some situations where you might want the other, for example if you need a BKB or Satanic off cooldown sooner and you have enough damage as it is, or if you need more physical damage instead of magical, but it’s usually fairly straight-forward.
You can start in different ways with Shadow Fiend. A strong set of starting items is a Wraith Band, 2 shared Tangos, a Faerie Fire and an Iron Branch. Alternatively you can get a circlet, shared Tangos, a Faerie Fire and Iron Branches. The aim is to build damage so that you have an easier time getting those initial hard-to-get last-hits.
Usually a bottle will be the first item you buy on Shadow Fiend mid, although as he really lacks survivability, you may need to buy Boots of Speed first. This will keep your health and mana replenished and sustain your Shadowraze.
Power Treads are the usually the better boots choice as they provide Shadow Fiend with a more significant boost to damage than phase boots do. The increased attack speed is more significant in the mid game than the extra +24 damage is, as SF already has high damage. He is also somewhat not reliant upon good positioning in fights, as he has a decent attack range, especially with Dragon Lance.
Magic Wand is great on Shadow Fiend as it provides a burst heal for survivability and helps him to be able to cast spells in team-fights, especially as SF tends to contribute to most team-fights in the mid game.
Ring of Aquila provides some regen for your Shadowrazes, and some good stats for you in the early game.
Raindrops are great for Shadow Fiend as he is quite squishy in the early-to-mid game. This provides SF with some tankiness against spell casters. It may be needed earlier if against heroes such as Lina, who have the potential to burst you down quickly.
SF should always have a teleport scroll so that he can respond to fights across the map as he farms.
A Dragon Lance provides SF with some strength and agility, both of which are needed on SF, and increased attack range. The increased range allows Shadow Fiend to attack from a safer distance and allows him to kite heroes a lot easier to keep him alive. Dragon Lance doesn’t necessarily need to be upgraded to a Hurricane Pike.
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A Silver Edge is a great option for Shadow Fiend for several reasons. Firstly, it can be easily assembled and built from a Shadow Blade. The invisibility active gives SF phase movement, which allows him to stand on top of enemies before using Requiem of Souls to deal massive damage. Shadow Blade should be built as the first core item on SF after his early game items. When and if you get a Shadow Blade you should immediately look for a kill on an enemy, as they will likely not be expecting you. It’s arguably a better option to Blink Dagger as it allows you to escape situations, re-position yourself in fights, and to punish the enemies with good Requiems if they neglect true-sight. It should be upgraded to Silver Edge if you need the Break active against strong passives.
A Hurricane Pike should be bought if you need to kite melee carries. The force active is also helpful in chasing enemies or escaping certain spells, such as Power Cogs or Sprout.
Eul’s Scepter of Divinity provides SF with lots of mana regeneration for his Shadowrazes, allowing him to cast them much more frequently. The active ability is a great defensive ability as well as offensive. It can be used to lift lone enemies before moving right under the cyclone and channeling a Requiem for when they land. It also passively increases SF’s movement speed which allows him to farm across the map faster and to kite enemies.
A BKB is often, but not always, needed on SF so that he can stand and attack uninterrupted. SF is quite squishy, and BKB massively improves his survivability and fighting potential. Decide whether a BKB is best, or if you can get away with perhaps a Manta Style and a Linken’s Sphere.
Manta Style increases SF’s damage output, as well as providing him with a purge ability and faster tower pushing. It can be used to purge a dust of appearance before using Shadow Blade if you purchased one.
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Butterfly increases SF’s DPS and provides him with evasion or movement speed. It gives him some damage and attack speed, both of which are needed on him. The evasion provides him with some much-needed survivability against physical damage dealers, and the movement speed active allows him to chase fleeing enemies much easier. The perfect item for Shadow Fiend, and one that many of the best Dota 2 players build on him.
Linken’s may be needed if you are against strong single-target spells that are disabling you from fights, such as Primal Roar or Doom. Consider whether you need a Linken’s against a BKB.
Daedalus provides SF with a big increase to his raw damage output. This may be needed if you lack physical damage on your team and need to take out a tanky enemy.
The accuracy from MKB is needed against heroes with evasion. It also provides some great damage, and can be bought preemptively against heroes that usually buy butterfly, such as Luna.
AC tanks SF up against physical damage and increases his attack speed. It’s a great item in the mid-to-late game, and very good for sieging, as the range is long enough to affect buildings even with a Dragon Lance and the attack range talent.
Satanic allows SF to heal up in fights and go toe-to-toe with strong enemy carries in the late game. It also provides him with a lot of HP to tank him up in fights.
A moon Shard is a great item if you have 6 items already and need more damage, as it can be consumed. In the very late game, you should consider buying one for your safe lane carry, as SF can farm quickly.
A Skadi provides SF with lots of all-around stats, and provides a movement and attack speed slow upon his attacks. This is a great option if SF needs to lock down elusive heroes like Ember Spirit. It should also be considered if you need to tank up, and already have some damage/survivability items.
Boots of Travel should be bought in the late game as they give SF the ability to split-push somewhat and frees up an inventory slot. They give a lot of movement speed which helps him to farm around the map more and allows him to kite enemies and spells easier.
An Ethereal Blade is a great item for a magical damage build for SF. The agility is great, and adds even more damage to the active nuke. The slow and the increased magical damage that enemies take makes it much more easier and damaging for you to follow-up with your Shadow Razes. If the enemy has no way to escape, you can also Blink on top of them and use your ultimate for a massive amount of damage.
A Blink Dagger is generally a worse option than Shadow Blade/Silver Edge or Hurricane Pike. You often won’t need the Blink ability, as it would be used for Requiem almost solely. The problem with this is that it can be easily interrupted, or moved away from if not all of the enemies are locked-down, and fights aren’t usually won solely from Requiem. The damage difference from casting it at a distance and casting it closer doesn’t necessarily make it a better option. If you consider that Shadow Blade allows you to often get great ultimates off, and Hurricane Pike can give you the survivability that Blink provides, the roughly 2000 gold spent on Blink just isn’t usually worth it.
A Bloodthorn is a great option against who need to be silenced or heroes with evasion. The active provides true-strike and critical strike with every hit, and silences them for the duration. It also provides lots of mana regeneration, which allows SF to cast his spells and increase his farming rate. Consider Bloodthorn against heroes like Storm Spirit, or Invoker who haven’t gone for many defensive items.
A Desolator can bring an enemy unit down 13 armor in conjunction with Presence of the Dark Lord. This makes Shadow Fiend quite strong against tanky heroes with high armor. However, most often there are better alternatives.
Aghanim’s Scepter is an interesting item on SF. It increases the number of souls he has and by extension the damage he deals by 20 or 40 when taken the damage from souls talent. Most significantly, is that it provides SF with an ability to heal himself in team-fights, as well as to deal more damage with his ultimate. It can be a fun item to get, and strong in some situations, although there are generally better options.
An Octarine Core will allow you to spell lifesteal off the damage you deal through your Shadowrazes and from your ultimate. The cooldown reduction is also very strong for items like Black King Bar as well as for Requiem of Souls. The extra health and mana are also quite helpful stats for SF.
Sange and Yasha provides SF with more damage and HP. It’s a good tool to increase his farm rate, and it allows him to fight in the mid-game. It can be especially strong if you intend to get a Manta Style and a Heaven’s Halberd. Although not discussed here, the evasion and ability to disarm can be strong against certain carries.
In the very late game, SF falls off somewhat. His Shadowrazes become less relevant, his minus armor aura becomes less strong and the damage from souls is not a good late-game spell when compared to other carries. In addition, he lacks defensive capabilities and relies on items for this, which reduces his potential. A Divine Rapier allows SF to deal massive right-click damage in the late game, although at a cost of a much-needed inventory slot.
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Heros like Tusk and Mirana can make life very hard for SF, as he is very easy to gank in the early game. Against these heroes, you should consider buying Boots of Speed before Bottle to provide you with some more survivability. The best thing is to have wards up and to expect them by predicting their map movements.
Shadow Fiend can destroy friendly Power Cogs to gain souls. This is an excellent trick to do in the beginning of the game. They require 2 hits to destroy, so have an ally hit one first with you attacking immediately after. You should communicate which order as well, a suggestion is starting from the top and going clockwise. If done effectively, you should be able to get between 6 to 9 souls before heading to your lane.
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